Door mechanism for railway cars



- June 28, 1927.

` W. E. WINE DOOR MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Aue. 19, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l )l l ll nliillliliiiii :l

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June 2s, 1927. 1,634,225

w. E. WINE DooR MBcHANrsM FOR RAILWAY GARS Filed Aug. 19, 1925 2 Sheng-sheet" 2 Patented June 28, 1927.

WILLIAM'E. write, or rvroLnno, oHIo.

noon MEcHANIsM: ron RAILWAY cans-1 Application ined August 19, 1925. serial No. 51,095.; t

My invention relates to door mechanism for railway cars and is especiallyl suitable for application to hopper cars although it may advantageously be employed on cars of other types. i

The principal object -of the invention is to provide simple and. reliable ydoor locking means which serve to supportr the -door in partially closed las well as in vfully closed p position.

A further object of the invention' isto provide a door locking mechanism to which power may be conveniently and eliiciently applied for the purpose of forcing the door y from an approximately closed position to a position of final closure. f

Still another object of the linvention. 1s to provide means insuring the maintenance of the locked relation of cooperating parts when the mechanism is in service.

A primary feature of the invention consists in rotatably mounting on a hinged car door a cam member whichis adapted to cooperate with a pivoted hook mounted on the car body so as to support'the door either in partially closed vor in fully closed position, the hook having a shoulder .cooperating with said cam member for the purpose stated, means being provided fory preventing an accidental unlocking rotation ofsaid cam with respect to said' hook when thek door is locked in final closed position, the said cam member being adapted while in engagement with the hook to be rotated so as to press against the shoulder of the hook and thereby force the door from partially closed to fully closed position, and the axis of rotation of the cam member being disposed so as topass between the said shoulder andthe pivotal Lcenter of the hook in all positions assumed by the cam when thelatter is cooperating with the said shoulder.-` n

A further feature'of the invention consists'in combining a hinged door with a pivoted hook and a plurality of rotatable cam members which together serve as means -for preventing the door from executing-an opening movement, the cams being adapted to engage opposite sides of the hook, lone of them being rotatably mounted on the door and the other being rotatably mounted on the car body and means being provided adjacentv the cams for engaging the door to toward closed position.

limit Aseparation of the pivotal pointsof the cam members. Y

Other. features of the invention pertaining to advantageous forms of construction andv combinations of parts will hereinafter ap- .pear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention Figure v1 is a fragmentary side elevational lview lof a hopper side vsheetv and4 aswinginglyV mounted door showing theV invention applied thereto, the door .being locked in fully closed posit1on.n. .7. j l'Figure-2 yis ,2A-2, Figure l.y t

Figure l3 vis aj view corresponding to Figy vurel but showing. the relation yof the parts Iwhen the/mechanism carried by the door .initially engages the hook as the door swings j Figuret is a view corresponding to Fig ure l but illustrating the door as supported -1 in partially closed position.

'Figure 5 .is a view corresponding tov Figure l butillustrating a position assumed by the parts when'the door is being forced from partially closed to fully closed position.

llVhile thev drawings illustrate a single hopper andthe adjacent edge of thevcoacting doorv it is .to be understood that the construction,is-preferably duplicated on the opposite side of the carand that the door illustrated isV but one 'of a pair vof doors connected by a spreader or stilfening member so as toV swing as one. i

, In the drawings l isthe sloping side sheet of a hopper and 2 is a swinging door for closing the discharge opening thereof. ,The door maybe secured tothe car body by the usual hinges (not shown) or in any/desired manner and it is. preferably formed from sheet metal.v Y

a sectional view yon the line the car. At each end the shaft is fashioned with a cam portion 8 and terminates in a squared head 9 for receiving a wrench 0r other suitable tool whereby the trainman may effect a rotation of the sli-aft 7 when the door is to be forced from partially closed to fully closed posi-tion.. nopposite sides of each of its cam portions 8 the shaft is preferably provided with disks, or

fianges 10 which by engaging the respectively adjacent door supporting hooks 11 servev to limit lateral shifting of the door with respect to the car body. The innermost flanges 10 preferably bear against the outer ends of the neighboring bearing members 5 and 6, thus preventing the shaft 7 from shifting in its direction of length.

The hook 11 which cooperates with the cam member 8 carried bythe doorl is rotatably mounted upon the car body by means of a pivot rivet 12 which passes through an overlying bracket 13 and through the side sheet 1 of the hopper. This bracket may be conveniently provided on itsv inner side with a lug 14 forminga stop for preventing undue downward swinging of theV hook when the door is open. Pivotally connected to the bracket'. as by means of a rivet 15, is a rotatable locking cam 16 adapted to be forced against the hook so as to prevent the latter from executing an unlocking rotation.

The shoulder of the hook which cooper- 'ates with the rotatable cam carried bythe door is preferably curved so as to form a depression or pocket 17 adjacent the point of the hookl for receiving the outermost portion 18 of the cam 8, the radius of curvature of the said pocket preferablyA being the same as that of the cooperating face of the portion 18 of the cam. Adjacent the pocket 17 but nearer the pivotal point'12 the cam engaging shoulder of the hook may advantageously have a considerably greater radius of curvature. It will be perceived upon reference to Figures 4L and 5 that'by thus forming the shoulder of the hook the rotatable shaft carrying the cams 8 may be turned through a considerable angle while the door is supported in partially closed positionbefore producing any substantial movement of the door towards its position of'final closure.. The portion 19 of the cam 8 which engages the shoulder of the hook to support the door in partially closed position extends a less radial distance from the axis of rotationv of the cam than does the portion 18 which cooperates with the shoulder of the hook when the door is finally closed. Between these portions of different eccentricity the cam 8 is notched or recessed, as at 2O for accommodating the point-of the hook when the shaft is being revolved in the operation of forcingrthe door shut. It will be observed that the axis of rotation of the cam member 8 passes between the shoulder of the hook 11 and its pivotal point 12 in all positions which the cani niember 8 assumes when cooperating with the shoulder of the hook7 thus enabling. the door to be supported in a. position of partial closure requiring a minimum rotation of the shaft 7 to effect full closure of the door and thereby reducing the radial length of the portion 18 of the cam by which the final closing movementof the door is effected. It will also be noted that the pivotal center 12 ofthe hook and' the hinge axis upon which the door 2 swings are disposed upon opposite sides of a line normal tothe plane of the door and passing through thecenter of rotation ofthe cam member 8. This is advantageousin that the load'upon the door is thus enabled to assist in preventing an accidental to closed position.

By preventing an unlocking .movement of the hook 11 the member 16 prevents the cam` member 8 from rotatingl to unlocked position. It will be apparent however if., as the 4 result of the door sagging upon its hinges, the cam` 8 should move downwardly away from the hook, that said cam might under such circumstancesv bev able to assume unlocked position accidentally. To prevent such a possibility the bracket 13is provided with an extension 21'which normally extends under the door stiffener 3 so as to engage the latter and limit sagging of the door'. The upper face of the bracket extension 21 is preferably curved at its extremity so as to form a guiding` face foi-insuring proper' closing movement of the door in the event the latter'has sagged greatly on its hinges.

In closing the doorl the trainman first pushes it to the partially closed position illustrated in Figure 1, the hook 11 sliding over the cam 8 and the shoulder of the hook coming into engagement with the shorter portion 19 of the cam; A wrench is then applied to the squared end 9 of the shaft and the latter is rotated in the proper direction. During a considerable portion of this rotation the door 2 is substantially unaffected, but toward the end of the rotation the portion 18 ofthe cam fulcrums on the shoulder ofthe hook 11 and forces'the door to final closed` position7 as illustrated in Figure 1. The locking cam 16 is then forced into engagement with the hook.

A. construction embodying the invention is advantageous not only because of its simplicity, strength and reliability, but also by reason of the fact that it enables the door to be forced to closed position with comparatively little movement ofthe power applying mechanism and in a most effective manner;

I claim:

1. In a door mechanism for railway cars7 the combination with a hinged door, of a cam member rotatably mounted on said door,

a pivoted hookmounted on the car body and adapted to cooperate with said cammember, said hook having a shoulder adapted to'be engaged by said cam member to prevent an Y ,preventing the latter from moving to unlocked position. i

2. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination with a hinged door, of a cam member rotatably mounted on said door, a pivoted hook mounted on the car body and having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by said cam member to maintain said door in partially closed position and in fully closed position, and means for preventing an unlocking rotation of said cam member, said means including said hook and a movable member adapted to engage the latter, said cam member when rotated while in engagement with said shoulder being adapted to press against the latter and thereby force said door from partially closed to fully closed position, and the axis of rotation of said cam member passing between said shoulder and` the pivotal center of the hook in all positions assumed by said cam member when the latter is in engagement with said shoulder.

3. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination with a hinged door, of a cam member rotatably mounted on said door, a pivoted hook mounted on the car body and having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by said cam member to maintain said door in partially closed position and in fully closed position, and means for preventing said cam member from rotating to unlocked position said means including a member adapted to engage said hook to prevent the latter from moving to unlocked position, and means f or supporting said door` against saggingon its hinges to thereby limit t-he movement of said cam member away from said hook.

4. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination with a hinged door, of means for preventing said door from executing an opening movement, said means involving a pivoted hook and a plurality of rotatable cam members between which said hook is adapted to be engaged, one of said cam members being rotatably mounted on said door and one being rotatably mounted on thevcar body, and means adjacent said cams Jor engaging said door to limit separation of the pivotal points of said cam members.

5. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination with a hinged door, of a Adoor stiiiener secured thereto adjacent the free edge thereof, a hook, means carried by said door stiiiener for cooperating with said hook to maintain said door in closed position, bracket to which said hook is pivotally connected and a cam rotatably mounted on said bracket forengaging said` hook to prevent the latter from rotating t0 unlocked position, said bracket being secured to the car body and having an extension which projects beneath said door stiener when the door is closed, the upper face of said extension at its free extremity being curved.

6. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination witha hinged door, of a shaft rotatably mounted on said door and provided with a cam and with a flange adjacent said cam, a pivoted hook mounted on the car body having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by said cam to retain said door in partially closed position and in fully closed position, and a rotatable cam pivotally carried on the car body adapted to engage said hook to prevent the latter from moving to unlocked position.

7. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination with a hinged door, of a door stiiiener secured to said door adjacent the `free edge thereof, said door stiener havinga iiange extending outwardly from the plane of said door, a rotatable shaft provided with 'a cam portion, separable members secured to said outstanding flange and forming bearings for said shaft, a pivoted hook having a shoulder adapted to be en- Vso gaged by said cam portion to maintain said door in partially closed position and in fully closed position, a bracket-carried by the car body upon whichV said hook is pivotally carried, and a cam rotatably mounted on said bracket and adapted to maintain said hook in locked position.

8. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination with a hinged door, of a cam member rotatably mounted on said door, and a pivoted hook. mounted on the car body and provided with a shoulder for engaging said cam member to maintain said door in partially vclosed position and in fully closed position, the pivotal center of said hook and the hinge axis of the door lying on opposite sides of a line which is normal to the plane of the door and passes through the center of rot-ation of said cam member.

9. In a door mechanism for railway cars, the combination with a hinged door, of a cam member rotatably mounted on said door, and a pivoted hook mounted on the car body and having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by said cam member to maintain said door in partially closed position and in fully closed position, said cam member being provided with a plurality of cam portions having diii'erent eccentricities.

10. In a door mechanism for railway cars,

the eonibination with zt hingedL door, of a, door, the vcurvature of a portion. of 'said ezun member rotatably mounted on said shoulder substantially corresponding to a doonnv pivoted hook mountedvon the car portion of said cam adapted to engage there- 410 body und adapted to cooperate with Said @am with, and a portion of said shoulder' having member7 said hook having' a curved shoulder u different radius of curvature. t adapted to be engaged by lsaid @am member In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

to prevent un opening movement o said `ILLIAM E. VINE. 

